


#PlatonicRubert

by thenspokethethunder



Category: Green Gables Fables
Genre: Christmas, F/M, Friendship, Gen, Platonic Relationships, shirbert
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-01-09
Updated: 2016-01-09
Packaged: 2018-05-12 17:09:58
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,767
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5673931
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/thenspokethethunder/pseuds/thenspokethethunder
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Post-Memories. Ruby and Gilbert the jolly Christmas elf hang out over the Christmas holidays and she gets him to talk about his feelings.</p>
            </blockquote>





	#PlatonicRubert

Ruby was watching for him at her window. She had been busily occupied in browsing pinterest, pinning ideas for Christmas decorations, but it was starting to feel like kind of a downer. She had kept intending to fully deck out her room for the holidays but she had been so exhausted. Now here it was, five days till Christmas and she wasn't even sure it was worth the effort to make the cute christmas banners and festive milk bottle vases she had been looking at. So she sat at the window, playing with the blinds and watching the neighbors' Christmas lights blinking. When his car pulled up, she she bounced up to meet him at the door while her phone buzzed with a text message:  
  
“Gilbert the jolly Christmas elf has arrived,” he wrote.  
  
She ran downstairs and opened the front door to find him standing there, mid-knock. He looked thinner than when she had last seen him. His hair had a just-trimmed look. But other than that, he looked like the same old Gilbert, wearing that dumb Christmas sweater he had stolen from his grandpa.  
  
“Gil!” she nearly shouted. “I missed you!” She flung her arms around his neck in an enthusiastic hug. “How are you?”  
  
“Good. I'm good.” He let go of her and shuffled back a step. “Uh, I brought you something because I heard you've been good this year. Wow, I didn't mean for that to sound so creepy.” he said, holding out the gift bag a little awkwardly. “Anyway... Merry Christmas!”  
  
“Gilbert!” Ruby exclaimed, taking the bag for him and stepping aside to let him into the house. “ _So_ sweet. And cute bag!”  
  
“Yeah, I thought you'd appreciate that. I think I did a pretty good job with the gift wrapping, even if I did get glitter all over my hands and hair and bedroom. So if I look a little more fabulous than usual, that would be why.”  
  
Ruby smiled, but she looked closely at him. He did seem fine... She had wanted to see him before there was any chance of the old Avonlea gang all hanging out together because she was worried about him and... well, she had watched the video. But he was acting just like the normal, charming, goofball Gilbert Blythe she had grown up with.  
  
Up in Ruby's room, Gilbert sat down on the bed and flipped through her psychology textbook while Ruby sat cross-legged on the floor and opened her present. It was a scented candle and a bar of peppermint bark.  
  
“I know as a future doctor, I shouldn't be encouraging you to eat candy, but it is Christmas.”  
  
“Aww! Thank you,” Ruby said, twisting the lid off the candle and sniffing it. “Is this...?”  
  
“A bacon-scented candle, yes. From what I understand, bacon isn't a part of the paleo diet, so I thought this might help you come to terms with your break-up with bacon.”  
  
Ruby shook her head. “Oh-kaaay. Seriously, though. It was really so sweet of you. I'm glad you came over. I can't believe we haven't seen each other in over three months.” She paused and then said, somewhat cautiously, “A lot's happened since we saw each other last.  
  
“Yeah,” Gilbert said, looking down at the psych textbook again and ruffling through it without really looking. Ruby bit her lip and was just about to open her mouth to say something more when he stopped her. “Hey, I just want to say before you ask any questions – because I _know_ you-” he pointed a stern finger at her, and Ruby rolled her eyes a little bit, - “and I can see that look in your eyes. But... I really don't want to talk about Anne. Or what happened with Anne. Or any video's on Anne's channel. Anne is off limits for the conversation tonight. No Anne.”  
  
“Yeah, I can tell you're having a hard time even saying her name,” Ruby said, suddenly sarcastic. She felt guilty when she saw the look on Gilbert's face.  
  
“I'm serious,” he said, setting aside the book. “I'm here for _you_. For us! Platonic Rubert, reunited at last,” He leaned forward and held up his palm for a high five. “Come on, tell me what's new in your life.”  
  
“Gilbert,” Ruby sighed, coming to sit next to him on the bed. “Have you talked to anyone about this?”  
  
“Nope,” he said. “And I'm not going to, because I am a strong, independent Canadian male who doesn't need to talk about his feelings.”  
  
“Have you talked to Anne at all?” Ruby drew her knees to her chest and rested her chin on her hands.  
  
Gilbert crossed his arms and leaned back against the wall. “Not really, no.”  
  
“What's that supposed to mean?”  
  
“Can we please talk about something else? Like the new Star Wars movie. Please let me talk about the new Star Wars movie.”  
  
“I haven't seen it yet,” Ruby said.  
  
“Gillis!” Gilbert said with an exaggerated gasp. “That's it. We're going to see it.”  
  
“Oh, please, you can't really expect me to be as big of a nerd about it as you are.”  
  
“I _am_ the biggest Star Wars nerd in the galaxy,” Gilbert admitted, putting a hand over his heart.  
  
“So you really haven't talked to Anne at all? About anything?”  
  
“Look, Ruby,” Gilbert said, his voice level and patient. “I'm not mad at her, if that's what you're thinking. She has every right to feel the way she feels. Or... doesn't feel, rather.”  
  
“So... you guys are still friends, then,” she said slowly.  
  
Gilbert didn't answer at once. Ruby watched him carefully and stayed silent. “I don't know,” he said finally. “She wants to be. Heck, I want to be. If there was some switch I could flip to turn off all of this... feelings business,” he waved a hand in a banishing gesture, “So things could go back to normal and I could have my best friend back, I would do it in a heartbeat. But unfortunately that doesn't seem to be a possibility at this point.” He was not looking at her, but staring straight in front of him. His face was so serious. Ruby was struck by how grown-up he looked. He had a very determined chin, she decided. There was something about it that made you sure he really meant the things he said and did. He and Anne had that in common. They were stubborn and unrelenting and Ruby didn't think she had ever known them to do anything half-heartedly or without passion.  
  
“I've never heard you talk about a girl like this before,” she said, picking at a fraying seam on her quilt.  
  
“I've never felt this way about a girl before. No offense intended to past girlfriends presently in the room,” he added quickly.  
  
She shook her head and smiled. “Please, we dated for like two seconds. Besides, what we have now is much better. Hashtag: PlatonicRubert, right?” He smiled at her, briefly. “You love her?” she continued after a pause. “Not just _like_ , but.... really love her?”  
  
Gilbert was silent for so long she began to be afraid that she had found the invisible line she shouldn't have crossed. But eventually he spoke, slowly and carefully. “Yes,” he said. “If love is everything that everyone says it is, and everything that I thought it was – and still think it is, I guess. Then, yes.”  
  
Ruby was overcome by a sense of wistfulness. Gilbert had crossed over into another world without her. She knew about boys, and dating, but when it came to this kind of real, painful Love with a capital L, she was completely unequipped to give advice. And if Anne and Gilbert weren't meant to be, then maybe she had to re-examine everything she assumed she knew about the way people act when they're in love. She felt like an outsider.  
  
“What are you going to do?” she asked.  
  
Gilbert exhaled, tipping his head back and staring up at the ceiling. “What else is there to do? I'll just have to get over it somehow. Time is supposed to help, or something.”  
  
“Gil, I'm so sorry. I feel like it's my fault, with all my stupid matchmaking and talking about how perfect you guys would be together.”  
  
“Oh, come on.” He finally looked at her. “I take full responsibility for my own humiliation, all right?”  
  
“I really want to tell you to be patient,” said Ruby, “and that everything will eventually work out. We all honestly thought you and Anne were meant for each other. I think everyone in Avonlea did.” Gilbert's jaw tightened and she hurried on, “But I also know that life is really short, and you don't deserve to be sad about one person forever. There's something to be said for patience but sometimes you don't have the time to wait and you just have to move forward and find whatever happiness you can.”  
  
When she had finished this little speech, it was Gilbert's turn to look at Ruby with sudden shrewd curiosity. “How are you doing, Ruby?” he asked. “I've been kind of worried about you lately. You good?”  
  
“What? Yeah,” Ruby said, slightly flustered by the change of subject. “I'm great. And I'm so happy to have everyone back at home for the holidays! We need to hang out as much as possible before you go back to school,” she said. Gilbert looked like he didn't quite believe her, judging from the wary way he still looked at her.  
  
“Anyway. Don't you feel better after talking about things?” she pressed.  
  
Gilbert smiled a little, his famous dimples making an appearance. “Hey!” he said with mock suspicion, throwing a decorative pillow at her, “What kind of witchcraft did you use to get me to talk?” She grinned and held up the psychology textbook, letting out a wicked laugh.  
  
“Ah, it all makes sense now.” He performed a little dramatic bow, which looked particularly silly from his sitting position. “I am duly impressed, Dr. Gillis.”  
  
“It probably wouldn't be professional for most therapists to hug their patients, but I think we should break the rules.”  
  
“I think a hug would be appropriate in this situation,” Gilbert agreed, and held out an arm to her. Ruby hugged him as tightly as she could. She knew without him having to say that it would take a lot more than time for this to get better, and maybe one really good hug wouldn't make much of a difference in the long run, but she could try.  
  
“ _Now_ can we talk about Star Wars?”

**Author's Note:**

> I started writing this before episode 2.17 aired and before Gilbert ended his twitter silence so in a way it was me trying to convince myself that Gilbert was doing some fun things over Christmas break, instead of just feeling sad about Anne.


End file.
